America’s system for handling classified documents is broken, say lawmakers and former officials

The U.S. government’s system for labeling and tracking classified documents appears to be broken, with potentially serious consequences for the country’s national security, lawmakers, former officials and scholars said Tuesday.

News that classified documents were found at the private home of former Vice President Mike Pence marks the latest in a series of revelations involving both the Trump and Obama administrations, raising questions about how the government labels material as secret and how it manages those documents, including after a president leaves office.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers said there was a “systemic failure” if both the Obama and Trump administrations could not keep track of classified documents after their tenures ended.

“What the hell is going on around here is my reaction,” said Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, the ranking Republican on the Intelligence Committee. “Look, obviously there is a systemic problem in the executive branch. Talking about two successive administrations from two different parties with officials at the top level having in their possession documents in places where they don’t belong.”